McPhee 'disappointed' with refs

PITTSBURGH — The Washington Capitals didn’t practice today but several players, coach Bruce Boudreau and general manager George McPhee were available to the media at the team hotel in downtown Pittsburgh earlier this afternoon.

McPhee voiced his displeasure with the 19-11 disparity in penalty calls and the 17-9 difference in power plays during the first three games of the Caps-Pittsburgh series.

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In Game 3 Wednesday, the Pens had seven power plays (including six straight) compared to two for the Caps.

“I was disappointed with the officiating last night,” McPhee said. “One team gets seven power plays, the other team gets two. It’s hard to win that game. Your defensemen are tired, your role players are tired from killing penalties and your top players don’t get on the ice as much as you would like them to.”

McPhee said he has spoken to series supervisor Terry Gregson about two incidents with goalie Simeon Varlamov, who was cross-checked by Chris Kunitz late in Game 2 and run over by Evgeni Malkin in Game 3.

“The supervisor is as good as they come — Terry Gregson is terrific,” McPhee said. “But if the referees aren’t going to listen to them, what good is he? We asked them to protect our goaltender and they’re not.”

In other Caps news:

* Boudreau said center Sergei Fedorov (upper body) and defenseman Tom Poti (lower body) will play Friday in Game 4.

* Depending on injuries up front, McPhee hasn’t ruled out making a call up from Hershey before Friday night.